Spanish Garlic Soup Recipe (Vegetarian) - Sopa de Ajo -
Spanish garlic soup is a fantastic rustic bread soup recipe that infuses the delicious flavors of fried garlic in olive oil with smokey paprika and a good glug of Spanish sherry vinegar. It’s a perfect winter recipe that is warming and easy to make and is often tagged as an ‘end of the month’ recipe as it uses whatever is usually left in the pantry. With just 8 easy-to-find ingredients, this soup is full-flavored and can be whipped up in around 30 minutes. This recipe serves 4 people, but can easily be expanded to suit. Ideal as a soup starter course or a warming lunchtime meal, and always served with some fresh toasted bread or croutons.
Equipment
- 1 large pan (10-12 inches/ 25-30cm) with deep sides around 5-6 inches (12-15 cm)
- 1 medium-sized pot for preparing the vegetable broth.
- Oven with grill feature (or a toaster)
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 1 baguette
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 12 cloves of garlic peeled and finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons of smoked Spanish paprika
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons salt Omit if using pre-bought stock
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 3 large eggs whisked
Instructions
Step 1 - Prepare the bread
- First, turn on your oven grill to 482°F (250°C).
- Cut half baguette into inch-wide pieces and place onto a baking tray.
- Grill for around 6 minutes or until the bread starts to go brown.
- Meanwhile in a large pan, heat half of the olive oil and add the bread pieces.
- Fry until the bread starts to lightly char, but do not let the bread blacken.
- Set the toasted bread pieces aside for use later.
Step 2 - Prepare vegetable broth and garlic
- In a medium-sized pan, boil some water, and once boiling add the vegetable stock cubes.
- (Note: if you’re making your own vegetable stock from scratch, allow extra time to do this first.)
- Allow the stock to simmer for 5 minutes while you prepare the garlic.
- While the stock is simmering, clean the pan thoroughly used to fry the bread, set heat to medium, and add the remaining olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes. The garlic should be golden but be careful not to cook the garlic too long as it goes hard and becomes slightly bitter once burnt.
- Add the smoked paprika and stir thoroughly. Cook for around 2-3 minutes.
Step 3 - Add vegetable broth and toasted bread
- Add the hot vegetable broth to the fried garlic and paprika and stir thoroughly.
- Add the toasted bread and simmer for 5-8 minutes with the lid on. Season to taste as required.
- Once the bread has soaked in the vegetable broth, use a large spoon to break up the bread, all the while stirring the bread pieces through the soup. Simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Step 4 - Add the egg and serve
- Turn off the heat to the soup and use a small bowl to lightly whisk the eggs.
- Once the eggs are lightly whisked, add around half a ladle of the hot broth to the eggs and continue to whisk.
- Next, gently pour the whisked egg mixture into the soup. Use a fork to gently stir the soup as you pour the egg.
- Set aside for 5-8 minutes before serving.
- Meanwhile, turn on your oven grill and lightly grill a few slices of fresh baguette until golden.
- Serve with warm toasted bread and a glass of nice red wine.
Notes
Spanish garlic soup-nutrition facts
Nutrition
Serving: 180gCalories: 457kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 18.6gFat: 31.9gSaturated Fat: 5.6gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 1804mgPotassium: 538mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2.6gCalcium: 69mgIron: 3mg